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Gateway
A node of Zone 2. Enemies Infernal Warrior Soulstealer Loquax Demon Text "Wait..." Hugh gasps. You look back behind you, down the long flight of tone steps, and see him doubled over with his hands pressed against his knees -- gawping and panting for breath. Perspiration bedews his face, glistening on his bald pate and forehead, soaking his lank hair and plastering it to him. He sits down, almost appearing to collapse under his own weight, and winces as his buttocks slam against the hard stone. "Vanquished by a stairway," Tessa remarks, gazing down at him with disdain. "Why... Why so... so bloody many stairs?" he asks. "It's a pilgrim's path," you reply. "There used to be a temple at the top, and worshippers were meant to exert themselves on their way up. It demonstrated their piety." "The gods amuse themselves... in such ways," Brachus says. His voice bears a hint of the same breathlessness, but somehow he appears to master it better -- though the two of them share the same pair of lungs. "Much like my kind. Minions must be made to know their place." One of the men holds out a flask of water. The grunt of gratitude reveals that it's Hugh who reaches out and accepts it. After a few gulps he passes it back, and gives a satisfied sigh. "Thank you." "Can you drag your bulk the rest of the way now?" Tessa asks. "Yes," says Brachus. "No," says Hugh. The two voices manage to emerge from their mouth at the exact same moment. Tessa rolls her eyes. "Need a morsel to get my strength back," Hugh says. He fumbles for the knapsack at his side, reaches into it, and pulls out an amorphous mass of squashed and cracked pastry that might once have been a pie. Hugh sighs as he looks at it. Then he shrugs, and clamps his jaws around it. He munches for a few moments, the sound of champing jaws accompanied by muffled murmurs of satisfaction. "Want some?" he asks, crumbs of pastry and flecks of gravy spraying out alongside the words. Tessa cries out in annoyance, and brushes the debris from her jerkin. "It's steak and kidney," he continues. "Made it myself." "He is adept at fashioning indigestible pastries," Brachus says. "Just hurry up," you say. After Hugh crams the last of the pie into his mouth, he stands up and gestures for you to move on. He continues up the stairs in your wake, chewing as he goes. You're soon at the top of the stairway, standing before the towering gateposts and the remains of an ancient marble palisade. It must once have been magnificent, echoes of its former greatness contained within the fragments of weathered carvings that linger on pillars now cracked and broken like a tavern brawler's teeth. The gates themselves are missing, perhaps looted for their materials or else destroyed by long-dead raiders. Through the vacant space where they stood you can see into the courtyard beyond -- where a pack of fiends strides towards you... Victory Text "Why would demons be lurking up here, in the ruins of a temple?" Tessa asks. "Some fiends crave worship," Brachus replies. "And when they come to your realm they delight in usurping places dedicated to the gods." You gaze across the courtyard, where more demons are forming up at the foot of an immense stone slab. A huge red creature stands atop it, alternately gesturing to his minions and at you as he bellows in his infernal tongue. "Then he would be our upstart deity." "Paralaxus." Brachus nods. "One of my most powerful lieutenants. He'll be a dangerous foe." "Perhaps. But god-killing runs in my family."